We are well past the vampire craze that took over television and film in the 2010s. Content centred around vampires are still there but venture towards comedies or horror; they simply do not have the pull that it had at the height of the Twilight years. But sometimes, something comes along and is tailor-made for the audience that craves such content.
Netflix’s newest foray into this world, First Kill – an adaptation of a V.E. Schwab story who also serves as the showrunner on the show, is as cheesy as every piece of promotion made it look, but it was precisely what the show but in the grand scheme of things, that was precisely what the show needed.
When it’s time for teenage vampire Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) to make her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family, she sets her sights on a new girl in town named Calliope (Imani Lewis). But much to Juliette’s surprise, Calliope is a vampire hunter from a family of celebrated slayers. Both find that the other won’t be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for.
Tropes are the bread and butter of television. Most stories are driven by them, whether you realize it or not. First Kill uses that idea to the maximum. Enemies to lovers has been a trope for as long as time, which has stood the test of time. And in reality, First Kill uses it perfectly.
The show excels when it focuses on Juliette and Calliope. The chemistry between Imani Lewis and Sarah Catherine Hook is the leading cause of this. There are moments where the show puts the camera on them, and no matter how shaky the script can get, their chemistry makes it all work. And that is the one thing that this show has. No matter how bad the CGI gets or how cheesy the story gets, the show can always rely on Lewis and Hook to shine.
Juliette and Calliope’s relationship could be compared to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Similarities don’t just run with Juliette being named after one of the titular characters of the play, it is also in the story itself. Two families who have history – even if that history is more related to their nature then the families themselves – and hate each other because of it, trying to keep apart two young lovers who simply want to be together. It’s easy to see where the two can interconnect and First Kill benefits from this base as it is a story we are all familiar with.
The premise revolves around them and their chemistry. If one of them had been miscast, the show would not work. It is clear where the show takes inspiration from the families and the central relationship, but it never feels like it takes too much from the play we all are familiar with. It’s a clear inspiration, but that is as far as you could say it goes.
When Calliope and Juliette are together, the show proves that it understands their dynamic. Whether they are on good terms or not, it is always palpable, and the tension is felt every moment. In those small moments, the show shines when it stops and stays on a small scale.
There are moments when it is clear that the show has bigger eyes and plans than the budget could afford. Netflix might have large budgets for their staple shows ie. Stranger Things, but shows who have yet to prove their worth or are based on an obscure story like First Kill won’t have the same benefits. It is clear that those who work on the show gave it their all and did the best with the small budget that they were given, it is something that shows often struggle with. When looking past those flaws, it is very easy to see the labor of love that was put into it. It might be shaky at times, but that doesn’t mean that it is bad. If First Kill is the success that it deserves to be, then it is clear that the show will come back with a bigger budget and then will be able to do what it wanted to do on a smaller budget and just couldn’t.
The show spends a lot of the time on world-building, creating lore and history for the vampires, the hunters, and the world. But often, the show fails at demonstrating how it all works.
Moments like when the town starts to realize that something is going on, it is revealed that somehow monsters are not a secret in this world and that they are known? But never before has the show made it look like it was a known thing. Juliette and her family hide who they are and their victims for most of the show, and the same goes with Calliope and her family; hunting seems to be done in hiding. And yet, out of nowhere, the show changes things to fit their story, and it simply doesn’t work.
It’s a shame because the story is exciting before that, and the tension they build between the two girls and their family keeps mounting. But with the introduction of the outside world and the idea that everyone knows that monsters exist, it breaks the illusion and instead becomes convoluted.
If it weren’t trying to do too much, First Kill would have been precisely what it needed to be and satisfying to watch. Is it still addicting and intoxicating? Yes, but the flaws do sour the taste of it. It is easy to watch and come back to, especially when Juliette and Calliope are on screen together, but the world around it isn’t as interesting as it thinks it is and that hurts everything in the long run.
